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You Will No Longer Go To Jail For Marijuana In New Hampshire

Al Olson
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You Will No Longer Go To Jail For Marijuana In New Hampshire

Sometime this summer, New Hampshire will almost certainly become the 22nd state in the nation to decriminalize marijuana. The New Hampshire House of Representatives on Thursday voted to eliminate the criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of cannabis. The bill now is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who has publically supported the plan.

According to state law, the long-awaited measure will take effect within 60 days of receiving the governor’s signature. New Hampshire would become the last New England state to remove criminal penalties for cannabis possession.

In November, voters in nearby Maine and Massachusetts made adult use of recreational marijuana legal. In Vermont, the legislature passed a legalization bill but it was vetoed last week by Republican Gov. Phil Scott. There are hopes of a compromise bill passing in Vermont this summer.

“It makes no sense for New Hampshire to be an outlier, putting people in prison for possessing small amounts of pot,” Democratic Rep. Renny Cushing, who has pushed for reforms, told the Concord Monitor.

Earlier this year, Gov. Sununu has signalled that he will support the measure.

“We’ll let the legislature go through their process and we’ll see where it ends up but I do believe in the decriminalization aspect of marijuana,” Sununu said in April. “Obviously not the full legalization. Those are two very different issues.”

And in May, Sununu posted this on his Twitter page:

A recent poll reveals that 68 percent in the state support legalizing marijuana.

Supporters of sensible cannabis legislation were pleased with the vote and expressed near certainty that Sununu will approve.

“We applaud the New Hampshire House in voting to concur with the Senate version of the bill and urge the Governor to sign into law without delay,” Devon Chaffee, the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, wrote in a prepared statement. “It is time for New Hampshire to join the rest of New England in adopting more sensible marijuana possession laws.”

According to an analysis performed by the ACLU, New Hampshire spent more than $6.5 million enforcing marijuana possession laws in 2010. The study also concluded that African Americans were 2.6 times more likely than white people to be busted for possession.

Matt Simon, New England Political Director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said:

“It’s been a long time coming, but New Hampshire is finally moving toward adopting marijuana policies that are consistent with the state’s ‘Live Free or Die’ motto.”

So what happens if you get caught with cannabis in New Hampshire? Here are some highlights of House Bill 640:

  • Possession of up to three-quarters of one ounce of cannabis or up to five grams of hashish will only be a fine. No arrest. No criminal record. Before decriminalization, this infraction would have been punishable by up to one year in jail
  • The final under the new law will be $100 for a first or second offense.
  • A third offense within three years of the initial offense will result in a fine of $300.
  • A fourth offense within three years of the original offense can result in a misdemeanor charge, but no arrest or jail time. and a $2,000 fine.
  • Those caught possessing cannabis who are under 18 will be sent to juvenile court.
  • Adults who fail to keep edible marijuana secure, allowing access to minors, are subject to a new misdemeanor offense.
  • 100 percent of the revenue from fines imposed under the law will go to a special fund for substance abuse prevention programs.

Why Is The Marijuana Industry So Damn White?

Joe Dolce
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Why Is The Marijuana Industry So Damn White?

We may be in the midst of the “green rush” but 90 percent of the marijuana industry is another color, and that color is white. (And male. And probably straight).

Jacob Plowden, founder of the Cannabis Cultural Association and his Aunt Molly Adams, want to change that. They span three generations of use within one family, but because of when and how they grew up, share totally different experiences.

(Listen to the podcast with Plowden and Adams on iTunes or Google Play.) 

Historically, there are several reasons for this color/gender imbalance. It began as far as the 1930s when marijuana prohibition became the law of the land.

Marijuana came from Mexico, the land of poor, brown people, and when those people started flooding across the border to flee the economic misery unleashed by the Great Depression, a tide of anti-immigrant fervor took hold.

“Reefer” was also big in the American jazz scene, led by African Americans. A big fear was that the evil weed would cause white women to have sex with black men. Those implications persisted for long time.

Today, the issues are as much socio-economic as social. The ACLU says that of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests from 2001 to 2010, 88 percent were for possession. African Americans are nearly four times as likely to be busted for possession than whites, which means that a bust for a white guy like me is a slap on the hand. For a person of color, it’s a ticket to orange.

Today, even as legalization spreads, many states ban applicants from obtaining cannabis business licenses if they have any criminal record, even for misdemeanors. California is changing that when it goes legal in 2018. Their laws recognize that it’s unfair is it to punish people throughout their lives for a crime that most of us don’t consider criminal at all. Not every state is as forgiving. Add in the high cost of launching a cannabis business and the barrier to entry is even higher.

For more, tune in to this podcast and hear one approach to tackling the challenge:

Joe Dolce is the author of “Brave New Weed” and is the former editor-in-chief of Details and Star. His book follows his adventures into the fascinating “brave new world” of cannabis, tracing its history and possible future as he investigates the social, medical, legal, and cultural ramifications of this surprisingly versatile plant. Rolling Stone magazine called it “one of the most fascinating accounts of the state of marijuana. A charming, honest look into pot’s past—and what that says about its future.”

What’s It Like To Have Sex With A Guy Who Has A Bionic Penis?

Sam Jones
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What’s It Like To Have Sex With A Guy Who Has A Bionic Penis?

Earlier this year we brought you the story of a man with a bionic penis who wanted to date a sex robot. If you were wondering what having sex with such a man would be like, now we know, or at least we have one woman’s first hand account of it.

The Daily Star, citing a column in Men’s Health, writes that a woman named Anka Radakovich recently slept with a 39-year-old man who’d been rendered impotent by diabetes. To fix the problem, he’d been fitted with an artificial penis, which wasn’t a problem at all for Radakovich .

“He was so cute and funny, I didn’t really care,” she wrote. “Besides, an erect, on-demand, rock hard schlong that could go for hours? I was in.”

How was the actual sex? Before they got there, she had some reservations.

“There are four levels of hardness: limp, half-chub, hard, and ‘OMG you’re going to kill me with that thing,’” she wrote. “I feared it would feel like I was fornicating with a baseball bat.”

But her fears turned out to be unfounded. After watching him inflate it by squeezing a bulb under his balls about 20 times, she said she watched it “inflate like one of those balloons at a carival.”

Once it was ready to go, Radakovich said it felt like any other schlong. “It felt like a normal stiffee in my hand, and I didn’t feel the pump or valve when I road tested it in my mouth,” she wrote. “It was rock hard, like it should be, but I didn’t feel like I was sucking a tail pipe or anything. And by the time we actually did the deed, I forget all about the implant and enjoyed myself.”

And now we know.

France Just Ended Prison Terms For Marijuana Use

Sam Jones
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France Just Ended Prison Terms For Marijuana Use

By the end of the year, French president Emmanuel Macron wants to end prison terms for cannabis use. Part of Macron’s campaign promises included marijuana reform. During their campaigns, four out of the five presidential candidates in France supported some type of marijuana reform. Only far-right candidate Marine Le Pen was against it.

Right now, offenders face up to a year in jail and a fine of 3,750 euros, or $4,200.

“Last year, 180,000 people were found to be in violation of drug laws. On average these cases take up six hours of police time and the same amount for the presiding magistrate,” government spokesman Christophe Castaner said, according to The Local. “Is the system effective?” No. What is important today is to be effective, and above all to free up time for our police so they can focus more on essential matters.”

This doesn’t mean marijuana will be decriminalized, but it will help simplify judicial procedures, something even the cops are pleased about. “It’s a good idea that takes reality into account,” said Patrice Ribeiro, of the police officers union. “Most policemen who arrest a user tell him to throw the joint away and then let them move on.”

Macron’s proposals involve handing out warnings and fines of up to 100 euros, instead of locking people up for marijuana use—something 17 million French citizens admit to having tried once, and 700,000 do daily, according to The French Observatory for Drug Use and Addiction.

California Closer To Being A ‘Sanctuary State’ For Marijuana

Drug Policy Alliance
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California Closer To Being A ‘Sanctuary State’ For Marijuana

The California State Assembly on Thursday evening passed legislation that would make Cali a ‘sanctuary state,’ and prohibit state and local agencies from using resources to assist federal law enforcement authorities against people in compliance with state law.

The successful Assembly floor vote means the bill has cleared its first house, before the Friday deadline, and now heads to the State Senate to be heard by the Senate Public Safety Committee.

The legislation, authored by Los Angeles Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, AB 1578, will protect Californians who are operating lawfully under our state laws by providing that absent a court order, local and state agencies, including regulators and law enforcement, shall not assist in any federal enforcement against state authorized medical cannabis or commercial or noncommercial marijuana activity.

In 2016, the voters of California overwhelming approved Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which provided that adults 21 and over could purchase and possess a limited amount of marijuana for personal use. However, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have hinted at a forthcoming crackdown on the recreational use of marijuana in states that have approved adult personal use.

President Trump made his intentions loud and clear in recent weeks when he turned rhetoric into policy with his signing statement to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, declaring the federal government’s intention to prosecute and punish states and their residents for using medical marijuana, never mind its recreational use. Additionally, Attorney General Sessions just doubled down by re-declaring the war on drugs. He called for reinstating mandatory minimum sentences and prosecuting all drug-related charges to fullest extent of the law.

These policies rollback the gains California has made in fighting mass incarceration and reducing the number of individuals in our overcrowded prisons and jails.

Black and Latinx persons have the most to lose. They disproportionately comprise the majority of individuals arrested on marijuana charges. For example, despite similar rates of drug use and sales across racial lines, from 2006 to 2015, Black people in California were five times more likely than their white counterparts to receive marijuana felonies.

“We supported and passed Prop 64 because of decades of California law enforcement applying marijuana prohibition unequally across racial lines,” said Alice Huffman, president of the CA-Hawaii NAACP. “We do not want to see local law enforcement going back down this path by supporting federal intervention into cannabis activity that is fully legal under state law.”

Approximately 92 percent of drug enforcement is done at the state and local level. Using state and local resources for the new administration’s agenda undermines the will of California voters and the state’s right to enact and enforce its own laws. California would be paying the feds to break its own laws.

In response, Lt. Commander Diane Goldstein (Ret.), executive board member of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, remarked, “The passage of AB 1578 will reduce the harms of the gray and illicit market in our communities, ensuring public safety and health. Critically, this bill demonstrates to Californians that law enforcement understands and respects that police legitimacy requires public support. Law enforcement cannot build community trust if we’re undermining the law.”

There is a real concern about giving the Feds access to information about California residents, especially dangerous for medical cannabis patients and industry providers. Thousands of Californians could suddenly find themselves targeted, harassed, intimidated or prosecuted by the federal government.

“Trump and Sessions’ threat to California is real,” said Drug Policy Alliance state director Lynne Lyman. “It threatens to ensnare law-abiding residents in costly—financially and personally—legal battles and possible incarceration or deportation. It is dangerous and it is expensive. Which means passing Assembly Bill 1578 is urgent.”

Cannabis Oil Will Help Olivia Newton-John Battle Breast Cancer

Brendan Bures
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Cannabis Oil Will Help Olivia Newton-John Battle Breast Cancer

Chloe Lattanzi spoke publicly regarding her mother Olivia Newton-John’s breast cancer return. She thanked fans for their love and support throughout the family’s difficult times.

In the post Lattanzi also revealed how Newton-John will battle the cancer that has now extended to her back. While also pursuing traditional modern medicine treatments, she will also use cannabis oil and “other natural healing remedies.”

“I want to thank all of you for your love and support. My mom and best friend is going to be fine,” Lattanzi shared in an Instagram post. “She will be using medicine that I often talk about. CBD oil! (Cannabis has scientifically proven properties to inhibit cancer cell growth) and other natural healing remedies plus modern medicine to beat this.”

Last year Lattanzi and her fiancé James Driskill opened their own marijuana farm in Oregon. Lattanzi has spoken openly regarding her cannabis support and has embraced the plant’s medicinal properties.

https://twitter.com/williamrejault/status/869661002585034753

“Cancer is the disease of our generation and it is part of my and my mother’s quest to beat this insidious monster,” Lattanzi also wrote on Instagram. “We both love you all, and anyone fighting this disease you can beat it. Look for natural remedies as well as what modern medicine can offer.”

Olivia Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 and had to undergo a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and breast reconstruction. On Tuesday she confirmed the cancer had returned and postponed her North American tour dates in June.

“My mom is so powerful she will beat this in no time,” Lattanzi also added. “All my love to you. And I wish you health wealth and happiness.”

Due to “incredibly insensitive” comments over her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis, Lattanzi shut down her Instagram as she was sick of the negative feedback.

Bitcoin Can Make You Rich, But What Is It?

Maria Loreto
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Bitcoin Can Make You Rich, But What Is It?

Bitcoin is the most popular form of digital cryptocurrency available, taking up 47 percent of the digital market alone. Bitcoin  is basically digital money, used for online transactions with no bank involvement. No banks mean that there’s no need to give out your personal information or to pay an extra transaction fee. Bitcoin is also popular because it’s kind of ideal for international transactions, since the currency is not tied and regulated by any country.

Bitcoin is currently valued at $2,483, an all time record. The currency was introduced in 2009 by an unknown developer and has faced a lot of ups and downs when it comes to its value, having a worth of $1,000 back in 2013 and then plummeting and losing its value for no explainable reason.

The growing interest in Bitcoin has helped out other forms of digital currency as well, like Ethereum and Ripple. Market watchers and analysts don’t know how why there’s such an interest in digital currency, but they speculate that economical instability from countries like Russia, Nigeria and South Korea have something to do with it.

A recent article was published on Marketwatch claiming that if you’d invested $1,000 on Bitcoin during July 2010, your investment would now be worth around $35m. If only.

If you’re still lost on what Bitcoin and digital currency are (understandable), watch this video that explains things further. We’ll probably need to know all of this information in the near future.

 

The Ultimate Summer Food: Strawberry Salad With Coconut-Cannabis Dressing

Amy Hansen
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The Ultimate Summer Food: Strawberry Salad With Coconut-Cannabis Dressing

For anyone looking to add a little extra green to their salad, how about some fresh cannabis leaves?

The flavor depends on the particular strain that you’re using, according to New York City chef Nick Testa, but they’re always herbaceous. He uses them as he would any other green, like kale, arugula or watercress.

“For this particular salad, I use something with a citrusy leaf, like either a Sour Diesel or Kosher Kush,” says Testa.

The leaves of the cannabis plant have no psychoactive properties; you’re simply taking them for their flavor notes and their terpenes, which is the essence of the marijuana leaf, the flavoring that comes from it.

Testa says he lives in a predominantly Greek neighborhood in Queens, where good feta and Kalamata olives are ubiquitous.

“There are dozens of different kinds of feta to experiment with, according to your taste. Before I moved to the  neighborhood six years ago, I’d had Greek salads in diners, but I didn’t really start eating them regularly until living here. Now I eat at least one a week.

I wanted to incorporate those ingredients into a spring salad, and walking past a display of beautiful, fragrant pack of strawberries at the market — that quintessential spring aroma — inspired the dish. It’s got sweet, savory, salty and umami notes notes as well as some of the classic Greek flavors.”

Photo by Chelsea Morse

Strawberry Salad with Coconut-Poppy-THC Dressing

By Nick Testa

  • baby spinach greens
  • Kosher Kush fresh cannabis leaves
  • feta cheese
  • Kalamata olives
  • smoked almonds
  • strawberries
  • cucumber
  • poppy seeds, for garnish

Coconut-THC Dressing

  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • ⅓ cup agave syrup
  • ⅛ cup Dijon mustard
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pepper
  • 1 ¼ cup THC-infused coconut oil* (recipe follows)
  • ¼ cup poppy seeds

Add the vinegar, agave syrup, mustard, shallot and salt and pepper to a blender and blend to a puree. With the machine on high, slowly pour in the coconut oil until blended. Turn the machine down to low and add the poppy seeds until blended.

*THC-Infused Coconut Oil

  • 1 ounce marijuana bud or trim
  • 1 pound coconut oil

Preheat oven to 200°. Spread broken up marijuana onto a sheet tray. Bake marijuana for about 20 minutes. Combine melted coconut oil and marijuana in an ovenproof baking dish covered with a lid or aluminum foil, and set it in a large baking dish or roasting pan. Place in the middle of the oven and pour 1 inch of hot water into the baking dish. Raise the oven temperature to 250 degrees and let the oil cook for 3-5 hours, depending on desired potency and intensity of marijuana flavor. Remove from oven and strain through cheesecloth. Squeeze all the oil out into a small glass container and discard the marijuana.

Vegans Rejoice: Introducing Grape Leather And Why It Matters

Jillian Peterson
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Vegans Rejoice: Introducing Grape Leather And Why It Matters

Sooner than later, some of your favorite clothing items and accessories could be made with grape leather. And no, not that kind you ate as a kid. This new adult grape leather is made from the byproduct of Italian wine making — the stems, skins, etc. that are usually burned and dumped into landfills, creating all sorts of harmful environmental effects.

According to Refinery29, H&M recently granted 300,000 Euros to the researcher behind grape leather, Rosa Rosella Longobardo, in their effort to become climate positive by 2040. Longobardo worked in conjunction with a Milan-based architect named Gianpiero Tessitore, the brainchild of Wineleather, who is going to officially launch the product in Milan this October.

Tessitore says the wine by-product (known as marc) is free, while the necessary machinery already exists, helping to make large scale wine-leather production a competitive alternative to skin.

That means wine leather can be used in car interiors and anywhere else real leather is often found. Drink wine. Save the animals.

 

What We Learned At Toronto’s Three-Day Cannabis Expo

TFT Editors
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What We Learned At Toronto’s Three-Day Cannabis Expo

To say that things are looking up for the  cannabis in Canada would be a vast understatement. In the past six months alone, the Canadian government has pledged to legalize cannabis for adult use, major companies have expressed an interest in getting involved in the industry, and medical patients were deemed to have a constitutional right to grow their own cannabis.

Last weekend, more than 10,000 cannabis enthusiasts and entrepreneurs gathered in Toronto for the second annual Lift Cannabis Expo to discuss the industry’s bright future.

The three-day conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre focused on industry developments, investment opportunities and the medical developments. More than 200 industry representatives set up information booths to help educate and inform attendees.

According to co-founder Tyler Sookochoffl Lift started in January in 2014 as an information resource blog and has since morphed into a major expo company, bringing in big names in the industry.

Ross Rebagliati, winner of the first Olympic gold in snowboarding in Nagano, Japan, in 1998 and now owner of a cannabis company, was in attendance representing his Ross’ Gold, a retail company based in Kelowna B.C.

“My responsibility after Nagano was to destroy the stereotypes and the stigma around cannabis,” the Rebagliati told NewLeaf TV. “I think it is a preventative substance and I really hesitate to call it a drug.”

NewLeaf TV was there in Toronto last weekend for the cannabis extravaganza and filed this video report:

 

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